Doc Rivers urging Kevin Garnett to shoot more

Monday

May 21, 2012 at 6:00 AM

By Bill Doyle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Something about playing in Game 4s of the Eastern Conference semifinals has brought out the worst in Kevin Garnett the past couple of years. Celtics fans hope he regains his touch in Game 5 against the Sixers tonight at the Garden.

Garnett made only 3 of 12 shots, scored just nine points and turned the ball over seven times in a 92-83 loss in Game 4 Friday at Philadelphia.

“I wasn’t really in a rhythm, to be honest,” Garnett said before the Celtics practiced at HealthPoint yesterday.

Other than his 1-for-6 night in only 11 minutes in the regular-season finale, Garnett’s 3-for-12 shooting in Game 4 was his worst as a Celtic since he went 1-for-10 in more than 41 minutes in a Game 4 loss to Miami in last year’s semifinals. That defeat dropped the Celtics behind, 3-1, in that series and they were eliminated in Game 5. This year’s semifinals are tied, 2-2. His seven turnovers were his most since he also turned it over seven times in a season-opening victory over Miami on Oct. 26, 2010. That was LeBron James’ debut with the Heat.

Garnett’s poor performance was such a contrast from his play in the first three games of the series, when he averaged 23.7 points and shot 63.3 percent. Counting the quarterfinals against Atlanta, Garnett had averaged 20.3 points and shot 55.1 percent in Boston’s first nine playoff games.

Sixers big man Lavoy Allen was physical with Garnett in Game 4.

“It doesn’t matter,” Garnett insisted. “All the big guys are playing physical. They’re bumping. You go through a side pick, it’s physical. I can’t tell one guy from the next. Spencer Hawes is being just as physical as the young kid. It’s all the same.”

Celtics coach Doc Rivers thought Garnett had a lot of the same chances he did earlier in the series, but his shots didn’t fall. Nevertheless, he wants him to keep shooting.

“We counted nine times,” Rivers said, “where he was trying to be a passer instead of a scorer. So we’ve got to get him back mentally thinking to attack. They didn’t trap as much as you’d thought. We’ve just got to try to continue to force feed him and keep him aggressive, but we also have to get into our stuff quicker like we did in the first half.”

Garnett has scored 29 and 27 points in Boston’s two victories in this series, but only 15 and nine in the two losses.

Ray Allen would like to see Garnett draw more fouls to take advantage of his strong free-throw shooting. The team that made the most free throws has won each of the first four games in this series.

Brandon Bass scored 15 points in Game 4, but played only a few seconds in the fourth quarter.

“Honestly, if we made one mistake,” Rivers said, “we should have gone back to him. The first three games, the smaller lineup was better than our big lineup. The big lineup got us the lead in Game 4. Both times we went small hurt us. In the fourth game, our small lineup hurt us. In Games 1, 2 and 3, our small lineup defensively changed the game. It’s a feel. It’s what you see on the floor. It’s a tough call.”

Rivers can’t second-guess himself too much. Bass hasn’t done much in the fourth quarter of any playoff game.

Celtics captain Paul Pierce was so bothered by blowing an 18-point lead and losing Game 4 that he wanted to play again the next day. During the two days between Games 4 and 5, he managed to put the loss behind him.

“It’s over,” he said. “The milk is spilled. You’ve got to clean it up, move on to the next game. You can’t let it frustrate you, you can’t dwell on the past. It is what it is. The series is 2-2. Obviously, we’ve got to go back to Philly, but we’ve got to take care of business at home.”

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